AICPA Announces 2014 Distinguished Achievement Award

An accounting professor at the University of Southern California has been recognized by the AICPA for his contributions to accounting academics.

Dr. Kenneth A. Merchant, CPA, CGMA, is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the American Institute of CPAs. He was honored at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association (AAA), today in Atlanta. The award, presented annually since 1985, recognizes full-time accounting professors who excel as educators and have achieved national prominence in the accounting profession.

Merchant is the Deloitte & Touche LLP Chair in Accountancy at the Leventhal School of Accounting in the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, and serves as a consultant to British Airways, World Bank and McGraw-Hill, among other companies.

“Ken’s scholarship, teaching and overall dedication to accounting education are extraordinary,” said Steve Matzke, AICPA director of faculty & university initiatives, who presented the award. “He embodies everything the Distinguished Achievement award is meant to recognize and his impact on the profession will be felt for years to come.”

Merchant previously served as dean of the Leventhal School of Accounting and was a research professor at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. From 1978 – 1990 he taught business administration at Harvard University. He has received awards from the AAA, including one for Lifetime Contribution to Management Accounting, and the Institute of Management Accountants. He served an honorary professor of accounting at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing from 2009 – 2011.

A prolific writer, Merchant is the author or co-author of 11 books and many professional articles.

Merchant has been licensed as a CPA in Texas since 1972. He holds a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned an MBA in operations research/production from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in industrial economics from Union College in Schenectady, NY.